Some Dos ano Don'ts Before we immerse ourselves in the technical exercises in this book, let's cover some basics. There are numerous guitarists who, despite the seemingly awkward appearance of their hands, posture, and tech- nique, produce amazing results. Generally, the philosophy is to leave well-enough alone (or, “if it ain't broke, don’t fix it”). My original intention for this book was to avoid telling people exactly how to hold their hands, how to sit, ete. But there are some physical problems which one should avoid, and some basic truths that need to be addressed. ‘The hands should be in a constant state of dynamie relaxation. This means they should always be free of excess tension. At the same time, they should always be on stand-by: ready to play in an instant. ‘Then they should empty, or relax, just as quickly. In order for all of this to happen, the hands need to be positioned as naturally as is possible while maintaining an advantageous angle to the strings. For maximum results, the wrists of both the hands should be naturally straight (in relation to the arm), not forced into being straight. ‘The diagrams below illustrate this point. Se bere how the wis is ataight onthe Here the wrists bent to mach ad thas not af the band, and not onthe otto side allowing the tendons to work ently. ya \ “Try this experiment: keeping your wrist bent, make a fist. Not very comfortable, is it? In order for the fingers to work correctly, comfortably, and for extended periods of time, the tendons must be as free as possible to move around (like the cables that they are) inside the carpal tunnel. The carpal tunnel is the boney passage in your wrist. Bending the wrist too far aggravates the tendons, and could eventually cause irreparable damage. 6 Some Do's and Don'tsIn the two diagrams that follow, notice how the same principle applies to the left hand. The sewighter the writ the mare Bending your writ too much makes lsterity yr fingers wl ave. ita ctruggle to play As for your lefichand thumb, it’s generally wise to keep it positioned just under your second (middle) finger. This creates some- what of a vise, and allows for an even distri- bution of pressure throughout the hand. bout the Body ‘The body should also be in a relaxed state. While seated, try stretching your neck and spine upwards towards the ceiling, pulling your shoulders back slightly Gust enough to keep them from drooping for- ward). Now, relax your muscles so that your body sort of freezes itself in that position. This is a good state for the body to settle into. Your shoulders should not erunch upward into your neck. Take a look at the illustrations in the following section about holding the guitar. ‘Some Do's and Don’tAbout Holding the Guitar — The Triangle ‘The guitar touches the body at three points to create a triangle: 1. At the lower part of the chest (near the sternum). 2. Atthe top of the left thigh. 4. At the inner part of the right thigh Of course, the reverse applies if you play left-handed! This triangle is held into place when the right forearm is rested on the instrument. It’s basic, yes, but this position provides the best angle for the guitar. For good tone production, espe- cially in a concert situation, it is essential that the vibration of the back of the guitar is not compromised by placing it flat against your stomach. Since the guitar is such a directional instrument (it sounds best wherever you aim the soundhole), this angle also allows for the sound to travel a greater distance, be- cause it keeps us from pointing the instrument at the floor. 8 Some Do's and Don'tsThe Left Hano It is vital that one adopt a strong left-hand “stance” and place the fingers in a position which allows for maximum reach and flexibility. [As you can see from the illustration below, the fingers of the left hand are not all placed on the center of the fingertips. Rather, an advantageous position for the left hand is as follows: 1, The first finger (1) plays on the left side ofits tip. 2, ‘The second finger (2) plays just to the left of its tip. 3. The third finger (3) plays just to the right of its tip. 4. The fourth finger (4) makes contact on the right side of its tip This position brings the larger muscles on either side of the hand into play, not necessarily to support fingers 1 and 4 (although this is a benefit), but to balance the whole hand and give it a stronger, more secure stance. It also allows for greater finger dexterity, Notice the space between the middle joints of each finger: They're not touching! Not only are they’ not touching, but there is an intentional amount of extra space. This allows the fingers to spread apart and reach with greater speed when necessary. Never allow these joints to touch, This actually: talkes more ‘muscular effort than keeping them apart, and the buzzword of this book is “economy” economy of effort economy of energy, economy of motion. As for the thumb, keep it just under the second finger. This helps to distribute the press between the fingers and thumb, creating a sort of vise. 10. ‘The Left HandPressure and Release ‘To familiarize yourself with this left-hand position, especially if it’s new for you, practice the following. Pressure/Release Exercise Place your left hand in the correct position as shown on page 10. (Don’t neglect your thumb, either.) Place fingers 1, 2, 3, and 4 on frets I, II, II, and IV respectively on any string (although I suggest you start with the third string @)). Press them down on the string and then empty them (release the pressure), keeping your fingers on the string. From this "relaxed-on-the-string” position, proceed to press the four fingers down, then empty them, Press, then empty. Press, then empty, and so on. Do this a number of times while keeping your fingers on the string. The point of this exercise is to feel the immediacy with which your fingers press (apply pressure), and then empty (totally release pressure) with the same imme- diacy. All four fingers should press and release simultaneously. Feel the vise grip we spoke of earlier. Feel the pressure distribute evenly throughout all four fingers and thumb, fier you have repeated this many times and gotten the hang of it, try it pressing the fingers down one at atime. Start from the same position as before: with all four fingers touching the string but not pressing. Finger Exchange As elementary as it may seem, we have just touched upon the most important issue concerning a good left hand: controlling the pressure and relaxation in the fingers. Now let's move on and approach exchanging fingers in the same manner: ‘The issue with exchanging fingers is maintaining the proper distance from the string, Notice in the illustration on the right that the fingers are all roughly the same distance to the string, Ideally, the fingers should be about half an inch above the string, but definitely no more than one inch. Moving the fingers any more than one inch above the string defeats our goal of economy of movement. ‘The Left HandFrom this position, we will practice the following chromatic scale. With the same immediacy as in the previous drill, press the fingers down and empty them, one at a time, in order, This time, however, do not keep your fingers touching the string when not playing. When you empty a finger that has finished playing, « back into its place; about half an inch above the string. Since we will be dealing with the right hand in a later section, don't worry about which right-hand fingering to use for now. A simple é, m alternation will do. Use rest stroke or free stroke—it doesn’t matter. Just focus on your left hand. o-- As one finger empties, make sure that the next illryp with exactly the same amount of pressure. I like to imagine this exchange as a shifting of weight from finger to finger. As you feel the weight shift, don't feel it only in the Fingers, but throughout the whole hand. This will give you a heightened awareness of the balance in the hand. 12 The Left Hand